Judge won't toss top charge in WikiLeaks case

WIKILEAKS

Associated Press

Published 4:00 am, Friday, April 27, 2012

Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

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Justin Sorci of Jacksonville, Florida, shows his support for accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower U.S. Army PFC Bradley Manning while standing vigil outside the front gates of Fort George Meade April 26, 2012 in Fort Meade, Maryland. The judge in the case, U.S. Army Col. Denise Lind, is expected to rule today on a defense motion to dismiss all 22 charges against Manning, 24, who is accused of providing the Web site WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents, diplomatic cables and video clips. less

Justin Sorci of Jacksonville, Florida, shows his support for accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower U.S. Army PFC Bradley Manning while standing vigil outside the front gates of Fort George Meade April 26, 2012 in ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Judge won't toss top charge in WikiLeaks case

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Fort Meade, Md. -- A military judge refused on Thursday to dismiss the most serious charge against an Army private accused in the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history.

Col. Denise Lind rejected a defense motion to throw out the charge of "aiding the enemy" during a pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning, 24, and left all 22 counts in place. The "aiding the enemy" charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Defense attorney David Coombs had argued that Manning hadn't intended to help al Qaeda when he sent hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war reports and State Department diplomatic cables to the antisecrecy website WikiLeaks.

Manning stated in an online chat with a confidant-turned-informant that he leaked the information because, "I want people to see the truth."

Prosecutors had argued that Manning knew the enemy would see the material when it appeared on WikiLeaks, regardless of his intentions.

Lind said Thursday that prosecutors must prove during trial that Manning knew he was giving information to the enemy. If they fail to do so, Lind indicated she would consider a defense motion to dismiss the charge.

"Everything we know about Bradley Manning is the complete opposite of this charge - nothing about aiding the enemy but everything about aiding the public's understanding of an unpopular war," Paterson said.

Manning hasn't entered a plea to any of the charges. He also hasn't yet decided whether he will be tried by a judge or a jury. His trial is set for Sept. 21 through Oct. 12.

Lind also heard arguments on a government motion to bar any discussion at trial of whether the leaked material harmed U.S. interests.